The most successful people know there are more benefits to taking up a hobby than simply blowing off steam.
Business InsiderFollowJan 17 · 9 min read
By Hillary Hoffower and Marguerite Ward
The most successful people know there is more to life than simply eating, sleeping, and working — it’s about enjoying life, too.
Right now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, you might find yourself social distancing and with a lot more time on your hands. If so, now’s a great time to take up a hobby, something that can not only help relieve stress, but can even help make you more successful.
Playing a musical instrument, for example, can stimulate your creativity, analytical skills, and fine motor skills. Reading can boost different types of intelligence and exercising can help with mental acuity.
Warren Buffett plays the ukulele while other take up different creative hobbies, like George W. Bush’s affinity for painting. Others enjoy hobbies that require more thinking and strategy: Richard Branson plays chess, Bill Gates plays bridge, and Condoleeza Rice plays golf.
For a little inspiration, here are the hobbies of 22 highly successful people.
Richard Branson plays chess
Branson is well-known for his adventurous side, and you’ve likely seen many a photo of the Virgin Group founder kitesurfing and hanging out on the high seas. But perhaps his favorite hobby is far more of a mental activity.
“I think chess may just be the best game in the world,” he writes on Virgin’s blog. “It combines the greatest aspects of many different sports — tactics, planning, bravery, and risk-taking — plus you can have a cup of tea and often a stimulating conversation while you play!”
Branson says he’s likely played thousands of games in his lifetime, and he tells The Telegraph afternoons on Necker Island are always spent on the beach, oftentimes playing chess with his kids.
Sundar Pichai watches and plays cricket
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is a big cricket fan. He played the sport in high school and still likes to play a pickup game every now and then, Business Insider previously reported.
In his spare time, he also likes to pick up new skills from YouTube (an Alphabet company). For example, he told The Verge that he recently picked up pizza making, learning how to make the food from scratch online.
Bill Gates plays bridge
Gates has a few hobbies that he considers “old-fashioned,” and the billionaire tells Reddit he is an “avid bridge player.”
He also loves playing tennis, and considers spending time with his kids a favorite pastime.
Jack Dorsey hikes
In 2011, when Dorsey was running Twitter and Square full-time for the first time, the cofounder told the audience at Techonomy 2011 that, to get it all done, he gave each day a theme. This allowed him to quickly recall and refocus on the day’s task once distractions were out of the way.
Dorsey said he would dedicate his Saturdays to hiking.
Meryl Streep knits
The award-winning actress says she loves to knit, and she’s even said to have hand-knitted the shawl she wore in the movie “Doubt.”
Streep admits that she spends much of her time on set knitting and finds the hobby to be therapeutic: “For me it was a place to gather my thoughts and understand the contemplative (life) … it’s a sort of clearing out place.”
In fact, tons of celebrities, especially actors who have plenty of time to kill on set between takes, love to spend their free time knitting. The list includes Julia Roberts, Ryan Gosling, and Christina Hendricks.
Kate Middleton colors
In recent years, adult coloring books have taken the world by storm, with titles like Johanna Basford’s “Secret Garden” topping Amazon’s bestselling books list.
According to her husband, Prince William, even the the Duchess of Cambridge is susceptible to the allure of coloring.
Proponents for the emerging trend suggest coloring as an alternative to meditation and mindfulness practices, saying the practice can help reduce stress and organize one’s thoughts.
George W. Bush paints
It turns out that the former US President is also a prolific painter, having painted more than 50 puppies, numerous landscapes, and at least 30 world leaders.
Bush took up painting after leaving office in 2009 and spent a month in Florida learning the art from a Georgia-based painter.
Ray Dalio practices Transcendental Meditation
As Business Insider’s Rich Feloni reported, the Bridgewater Associates founder has said the practice of Transcendental Meditation is “the single biggest influence” on his life.
Dalio began practicing Transcendental Meditation in 1969 as a college student after seeing the Beatles’s fascination with it. Since then, Dalio has brought the practice to his employees, and waves of Wall Street bankers and investors are signing up for lessons.
Tom Hanks collects vintage typewriters
As Business Insider previously reported, the actor and filmmaker has been collecting vintage typewriters since 1978, and he uses one every day because he loves the sound, feeling, and permanence that comes with typing on one.
“Everything you type on a typewriter sounds grand, the words forming in mini-explosions of SHOOK SHOOK SHOOK. A thank-you note resonates with the same heft as a literary masterpiece,” Hanks writes for The New York Times.
Sergey Brin is an adrenaline junkie
In his spare time, the Google cofounder likes to push his body to the limit in any way he can. This includes roller hockey, ultimate Frisbee, gymnastics, skydiving, and high-flying trapeze.
Marissa Mayer bakes
The former Yahoo CEO told San Francisco magazine that she’s always loved baking.
“I think it’s because I’m very scientific. The best cooks are chemists,” she says. She takes a practical approach to her baking, and has created spreadsheets analyzing cupcake and frosting recipes.
“My hobbies actually make me better at work,” she says. “They help me come up with new and innovative ways of looking at things.”
Steve Wozniak plays polo … on a Segway
Apparently Segway polo is a thing, and the Apple cofounder is the namesake of one of the sport’s major world tournaments, Woz Challenge Cup, the World Cup of Segway polo. The game is played in four quarters, and five players on each team try to get a rubber ball past the opponent’s goalie.
“Segway polo is the one thing I will block off my calendar for,” Wozniak tells Quartz.
Tim Gunn soaks up art
The “Project Runway” cohost and mentor told The New York Times that he spends every Sunday at the Metropolitan Museum — “I stay there basically until the museum is about to close.”
He dons a suit — “I want to prepare myself properly” — and walks through Central Park to get there.
“I’m a huge lover of art,” he explained. “I go to the Greek and Roman galleries first. I’ll choose different objects to fixate upon. A trip to the Met can be very emotional. There are paintings there that just lift me off the ground. I feel buoyant.”
He then heads to the Balcony Lounge for a glass or two of wine and tea sandwiches and pulls out his iPad to research what he’s just seen. “I have become insatiable on the topic of ancient Rome.”
Warren Buffet plays the ukulele
According to Forbes, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO’s love for the ukulele spans decades.
Buffett often uses his musical talent for good and has donated instruments and lessons to children’s clubs in Omaha and given performances for charity.
Angelina Jolie collects weapons
As previously reported on Business Insider, Jolie is another Hollywood actor with a unique hobby: She collects knives with her family.
Jolie tells W Magazine that her mom introduced her to daggers when she was a kid, and that she has passed this hobby on to her son, Maddox. She says the knife blades she gives him are dulled so he can’t hurt himself, and that their dagger purchases are always “accompanied by discussions about violence.”
In another interview with Conan O’Brien, Jolie shows off her skills with a butterfly knife and explains that her fascination with weapons comes from the history behind them: “There’s just something beautiful about them.”
Larry Ellison sails
When Charlie Rose interviewed the Oracle CTO and former CEO about his love for winning America’s Cup yacht race, Ellison replied, “I don’t smoke, but I do sail.”
As Business Insider previously reported, Ellison took a sailing course shortly after moving to California in 1966 at the age of 22, and by 25 he owned his first boat, a 34-foot-long racing sloop.
Oprah Winfrey reads
When Winfrey’s not working, she’s reading.
“Nothing, not one thing or activity, can replace the experience of a good read — being transported to a different land, a different realm, through words and language,” she wrote on her website.
She also spends time curating her famous “Oprah Book Club,” which has helped books reach bestselling status in the past.
Michelle Obama runs
The former first lady previously said in a chat that one of her hobbies is exercising “just to keep moving.” She’s even known to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to hit the treadmill for a run, according to The New York Times.
That’s not surprising considering her “Let’s Move!” public health campaign, which aimed to promote healthy living among kids.
Anna Wintour plays tennis
Anna Wintour reportedly wakes up at 5 a.m. to hit the tennis court before heading into the Vogue offices. She takes lessons at the Midtown Tennis Club in Manhattan, according to The Cut.
She’s even left fashion week early to attend tennis matches and is a regular attendee at the US Open, Wimbledon Championship, and French Open tournaments.
She’s also friends with Roger Federer, according to Fashionista. Karl Lagerfeld reportedly built a tennis court on his property to convince her to visit the French coast.
Nicole Kidman gardens
In an interview with Vogue, Kidman said of her life in Tennessee: “We have a farm there, and I have an organic vegetable garden. This is a path I’d not taken before. My mum’s always gardened. My sister gardens. And I’ve now conformed to the Kidman women’s hobby of gardening. And it is just a hobby.”
In July, she shared a photo on Instagram of her homegrown roses with the caption, “Last of my homegrown roses this summer.”
Condoleeza Rice golfs
The former Secretary of State picked up golf at the age of 50 when her cousin’s husband gave her golfing lessons on the range.
“It’s actually also a thinking-person’s game,” Rice told Golf Digest. “I find that I enjoy walking from shot to shot and deciding how I’m going to get out of this or that trouble. I just enjoy the strategy of it.”
David Solomon DJs
CEO of Goldman Sachs David Solomon goes by D-Sol at night when he’s pursuing his side hobby as a DJ at clubs around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Hamptons.
“When people started seeing I had this hobby and was into music, a 24 year-old analyst would say ‘Hey David, I saw your post on this and I heard your track,’” he said during a panel for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit.
“They want to connect with you, talk about how they got to the firm. It’s about being human and opening yourself up. We all used to keep our private lives so separated from what we were doing in business and that’s changed.”
He’s also said that finding and exploring a passion is crucial to longevity in a career known for grinding people down and burning them out with its long hours and endless travel.
Rachel Gillett contributed to an earlier version of this post.
For more great stories, visit Business Insider’s homepage.
